| Historic Name: |
Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity |
Common Name: |
Austin House |
| Style: |
Tudor |
Neighborhood: |
University |
| Built By: |
Edwin J. Ivey, architect |
Year Built: |
1928 |
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| Significance |
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In the opinion of the survey, this property is located in a potential historic districe (National and/or local). |
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This Tudor Revival style building was designed by Seattle architect Edwin J. Ivey. The Tudor Revival style relates well to other Greek Row buildings and the campus structures of the period, which are predominantly in the Collegiate Gothic style. The former Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity is one of the few Greek Row buildings that retains its original multi-paned steel windows.
Edwin J. Ivey (1883-1940) worked with other Seattle architects including Warren Milner, Joseph Cote, Howard Riley and Joseph Skoog. He is probably best known for his residential designs. This appears to be the only University of Washington fraternity that he designed.
The building was owned by Henry W. Austin and later purchased by the Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity. Today, the fraternity no longer occupies the building, and it is now a boarding house called Austin House, perhaps after its original owner.
The 1967-1968 east addition, designed by architect Burr Richards, is unfortunate and is not compatible with the original building. The addition is not visible from the corner of 21st Avenue and NE 47th Street and is relatively separate from the main building. In 1948, the third floor of the fraternity was altered, and additional alterations were made in 1958. More interior alterations were made to the original building in 1982 and 1988. The 1988 additions were designed by Curtis Bales of the Hobbs Architecture Group. Some interior alterations to the main level were also made in 1991. With the exception of the east addition, most alterations are not visible from the exterior of the building.
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| Appearance |
| The original Tudor Revival style building has an L-shaped plan, with a steeply pitched roof, with brick on the lower story and stucco and half-timbering above. The gable end on the east side of the original structure has a parapet end, with a checkerboard pattern of squares of bricks alternating with plain white concrete, and the other gable has an exposed truss with half-timbering. The building has brick dentils under the eaves. The main entry is low arched and has cast stone ornamented trim in a Collegiate Gothic style, similar to many buildings on the UW Campus. The wood front door is original and is incised in Gothic motifs, also similar to campus buildings. The building still has its original multi-paned steel casement windows, which are arranged in a variety of ways, including rows of windows on the gable ends. The second floor windows are gabled wall dormers that extend into the roof, and the third story windows are gabled dormers, all with casement windows. The checkerboard pattern of brickwork squares and light-colored cement is also found on the upper portion of the chimney on the east elevation. On the second floor of the gable end on the south elevation, there are French doors that open onto a small wrought-iron balcony. The north elevation has a fire escape, a small attached wood shed structure, and a new door.
There is a substantial three-and-one-half-story wood-frame addition built in 1967-1968 on the east side of the original building. The addition is less prominent because it is located downhill from the original building. It is clad with vertical wood cladding, and the second floor has a recessed balcony. The north and south elevations of the addition have gabled dormers, presumably to match the character of the original building. The windows on the new addition are aluminum frame. |
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| Status: |
Yes - Inventory |
| Classication: |
Building |
District Status: |
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| Cladding(s): |
Brick, Stucco |
Foundation(s): |
Concrete - Poured |
| Roof Type(s): |
Gable |
Roof Material(s): |
Asphalt/Composition |
| Building Type: |
Domestic - Institutional Housing |
Plan: |
L-Shape |
| Structural System: |
Masonry - Unreinforced |
No. of Stories: |
two & ½ |
| Unit Theme(s): |
Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Social Movements & Organizations |
| Integrity |
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Changes to Plan: |
Moderate |
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Changes to Windows: |
Intact |
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Changes to Original Cladding: |
Intact |
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| Major Bibliographic References |
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City of Seattle DCLU Microfilm Records.
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King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives.
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Johnston, Norman, "Where the Greeks Came Marching In: Their 'Row' at the University of Washington." Unpublished manuscript for Columbia Magazine. Forthcoming 2002.
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Divoky, Andrea. Notes on University of Washington Fraternities and Sororities, compiled in 1997 and updated in 2002.
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